• Secara historis, kekebalan berarti perlindungan dari penyakit dan, lebih khusus lagi,

penyakit menular. Sel dan molekul yang bertanggung jawab untuk kekebalan membentuk
sistem kekebalan, dan respons kolektif dan terkoordinasi mereka terhadap pengenalan zat
asing disebut respons imun.

• Fungsi fisiologis sistem imun adalah pertahanan terhadap mikroba infeksius. Namun,
bahkan zat asing yang tidak menular dapat menimbulkan respons imun. Selanjutnya,
mekanisme yang biasanya melindungi individu dari infeksi dan menghilangkan zat asing
juga mampu menyebabkan cedera jaringan dan penyakit dalam beberapa situasi. Oleh
karena itu, definisi yang lebih inklusif dari respon imun adalah reaksi terhadap komponen
mikroba serta makromolekul, seperti protein dan polisakarida, dan bahan kimia kecil yang
diakui sebagai benda asing, terlepas dari konsekuensi fisiologis atau patologis dari reaksi
tersebut. Dalam beberapa situasi, bahkan molekul diri dapat menimbulkan respons imun
(disebut respons autoimun). Imunologi adalah studi tentang respon imun dalam
pengertian yang lebih luas dan peristiwa seluler dan molekuler yang terjadi setelah suatu
organisme bertemu mikroba dan makromolekul asing lainnya.
• The
• principal components of innate immunity are (1)
• physical and chemical barriers, such as epithelia and anti-
• microbial chemicals produced at epithelial surfaces; (2)
• phagocytic cells (neutrophils, macrophages), dendritic
• cells, and natural killer (NK) cells; (3) blood proteins,
• including members of the complement system and other
• mediators of inflammation; and (4) proteins called cyto -
• kines that regulate and coordinate many of the activities
• of the cells of innate immunity.
• The main components of adaptive immunity
are cells
• called lymphocytes and their secreted products,
such as
• antibodies. Foreign substances that induce
specific
• immune responses or are recognized by
lymphocytes or
• antibodies are called antigens.
• In humoral immunity, B lym-
• phocytes secrete antibodies that prevent
• infections by and eliminate extracellular
• microbes. In cell-mediated immunity,
• helper T lymphocytes activate macro-
• phages to kill phagocytosed microbes or
• cytotoxic T lymphocytes directly destroy
• infected cells.
• Humoral immunity is mediated by mole-
• cules in the blood and mucosal secretions, called antibod-
• ies, which are produced by cells called B lymphocytes
• (also called B cells). Antibodies recognize microbial anti-
• gens, neutralize the infectivity of the microbes, and target
• microbes for elimination by various effector mechanisms.
• Humoral immunity is the principal defense mechanism
• against extracellular microbes and their toxins because
• secreted antibodies can bind to these microbes and toxins
• and assist in their elimination. Antibodies themselves are
• specialized and may activate different effector mecha-
• nisms. For example, different types of antibodies promote
• the ingestion of microbes by host cells (phagocytosis),
• bind to and trigger the release of inflammatory mediators
• from cells, and are actively transported into the lumens
• of mucosal organs and through the placenta to provide
• defense against ingested and inhaled microbes and against
• infections of the newborn, respectively.
• Cell-mediated
• immunity, also called cellular immunity, is mediated by
• T lymphocytes (also called T cells). Intracellular microbes,
such as viruses and some bacteria, survive and proliferate
• inside phagocytes and other host cells, where they are
• inaccessible to circulating antibodies. Defense against
• such infections is a function of cell-mediated immunity,
• which promotes the destruction of microbes residing in
• phagocytes or the killing of infected cells to eliminate
• reservoirs of infection.
• Protective immunity against a microbe is usually
• induced by the host’s response to the microbe (Fig. 1-
3).
• The form of immunity that is induced by exposure to
a
• foreign antigen is called active immunity because the
• immunized individual plays an active role in
responding
• to the antigen.
• Immunity can also be conferred on an individual by
• transferring serum or lymphocytes from a specifically
• immunized individual, a process known as adoptive
• transfer in experimental situations (see Fig. 1-3). The recipient of such a transfer becomes immune to the
par-
• ticular antigen without ever having been exposed to or
• having responded to that antigen. Therefore, this form of
• immunity is called passive immunity. Passive immuni-
• zation is a useful method for conferring resistance rapidly,
• without having to wait for an active immune response
• to develop. A physiologically important example of
• passive immunity is the transfer of maternal antibodies
• to the fetus, which enables newborns to combat infec-
• tions before they develop the ability to produce antibod-
• ies themselves. Passive immunization against toxins by
• the administration of antibodies from immunized animals
• is a lifesaving treatment for potentially lethal infections,
• such as tetanus, and snake bites.
• He
• also coined the term antibodies (antikörper in German)
• for the serum proteins that bound toxins, and substances
• that stimulated the production of antibodies were called
• antigens. The modern definition of antigens includes
• substances that bind to specific lymphocyte receptors,
• whether or not they stimulate immune responses.
• According to strict definitions, substances that stimulate
• immune responses are called immunogens.